Blow-By-Blow In Luigi Mangione's Courtroom | Crime Alert 5PM 12.03.25

Everything you may have missed as Luigi Mangione tries to exclude evidence in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert, hourly Update, Breaking crime News. Now. I'm Drew Nelson.
In a Manhattan courtroom, prosecutors play the nine to one
one call that may shape the fate of Luigi Mangioni.
The voice calm and apologetic, belonging to a McDonald's manager
in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She tells the operator she first tried
calling the non emergency line. Then she explains why she

(00:22):
is calling, quote, I have a customer here that some
other customers were suspicious of that. He looks like the
CEO shooter in New York. And they're just really upset
and come to me, and I'm like, I can't approach him.
The caller is not identified. During the call, she keeps working.
She can be heard talking about bagels. At one point,
she shouts, quote one of them is no butter. The

(00:43):
nine one one operator, Emily States, later testifies she asks
for a description. The manager replied that all she could
see were the eyebrows. Defense attorney Mark Agniffilow objects to
the call being played. The judge allows it only for
the suppression hearing and warns it may still be excluded
at a trial. Mangioni enters the courtroom in shackles. The

(01:04):
judge later allows the restraints to be removed so he
can take notes. Mangioni writes steadily as the hearing unfolds.
Prosecutors then play surveillance video from the McDonald's. It establishes
the timeline at exactly nine oh three am. Mangioni sits
down with breakfast. Eleven minutes later, the nine one one
call is made. At nine twenty eight am, two police

(01:25):
officers arrive. More officers follow by nine. For two am,
at least eight officers are visible. The defense argues Mangioni
was effectively detained long before any official arrest. Mangioni watches
the footage closely as the restaurant fills with police. Prosecutors
show the moments leading up to his arrest. The defense
argues the show of force have violated his rights. Testimony

(01:48):
ships to the jail where Mangioni is held. A former
British infantryman, Thomas Rivers says he was assigned to keep
constant watch over Mangioni to prevent end quote Epstein's style situation.
Rivers describes having quote casual, natural conversations with Mangioni. He
recalls him laughing about fighting quote a gang of lady

(02:09):
boys in Thailand. Mangioni chuckles in court. Rivers says Mangioni
urged him to read the doors of perception. Upon learning
Rivers did not, Mangioni shook his head in disappointment. Rivers
testifies that Mangioni discussed how he is portrayed in the
media and rejected comparisons to Ted Kaczinski aka the Unibomber.
Prosecutors introduced journal entries they attribute to Mangioni in which

(02:33):
he allegedly wrote that Kazinski's actions quote crossed the line.
Corrections Officer Matt Henry also monitored Mangioni. He testifies that
Mangioni told him he was caught with a three D
printed firearm. Prosecutors claimed that weapon was used to kill
United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Defense attorney Agnifilo presses him, quote,

(02:53):
so he just blurted out to you that he had
a three D printed pistol. Henry replies, quote yes. Defense
moves to suppress those statements, arguing the conversations were illegally coerced.
The courtroom gallery is packed with officials, media, and members
of the public, some wearing shirts reading justice is not
a spectacle and without a warrant, it's not a search,

(03:15):
it's a violation. Supporters continued to donate to Mangioni's defense fund.
More than one million dollars has now been raised from
over twenty eight thousand donors. Most of the money moved
through a givesend go campaign after GoFundMe removed it under
its terms of service. If officers already believed Mangioni was
their suspect inside the McDonald's, why is so much of

(03:37):
this case now focused on what happened before the arrest,
more on the case of the man who shot Brian Thompson.
After this, after a brief break, the legal battle turns
to police conduct inside that Altoon of McDonald's. Defense attorney
Mark Agnifilo argues that surrounding Louis j. Gi Mangioni with

(04:01):
officers amounted to illegal attention. He also challenges the search
of Mangioni's backpack, claiming it was done without a warrant.
Altuna police officer Joseph Dettweiler testifies that he recognized Mangioni immediately.
Defense lawyers argued Dettwiler questioned Mangioni for about twenty minutes
before reading him his miranda rights. They insist any statements
from that period must be excluded. Prosecutors say the backpack

(04:24):
contained the three D printed gun used to kill Brian Thompson,
along with writings they describe as a confession. The defense
argues that if the search is ruled unlawful, all of
that evidence must be thrown out. Initially, Mangioni faced state
terrorism charges. A judge later ruled there was not enough
evidence to support a terrorism theory. At the state level,
those charges were dropped. He still faces nine felony counts

(04:47):
in New York, including second degree murder. At the federal level,
he still faces terrorism charges and could face the death penalty.
Mangioni's attorneys described a quote beautiful promising life they said
had been derailed by the charges. Prosecutors counter that the
evidence is lawful and overwhelming. For now, the case is
not about guilt or innocence. It's about what the jury

(05:08):
will be allowed to see. Suppression hearings continue as no
trial date has been set for more in the case
of Luigi Mangioni. Join Crime Stories with Nancy Grace Now
on Fox one, on Serious exem Triumph Channel one to
eleven at our new time six pm Eastern, on YouTube,
and wherever you get your podcasts. With this crime alert,
I'm Drew Nelson